Mahama Refugee Camp – Rwanda
Contexte:
The Mahama Refugee Camp, located in Rwanda’s Eastern Province since 2015, houses over 58,000 displaced people primarily from Burundi and DR Congo. Despite its size (175 hectares), the camp lacks access to the national electric power grid, though efforts are underway to connect it since 2022 to reduce reliance on fuel-powered generators. The surrounding rural areas are densely populated, with subsistence agriculture as the primary activity, and limited access to healthcare and education. While some renewable energy systems exist in the settlement’s district, including the Nasho Solar Power Plant and biodigesters, the primary energy sources still include firewood and diesel. Overall, access to sustainable and affordable energy remains limited in Mahama, affecting many areas of life, including economic opportunities, safety and education.
Demonstrated solutions
SUNNY aims to implement clean and renewable energy solutions in Mahama, in order to study their environmental, health, climatic, social and economic impacts on both the local host population and refugees in Rwanda, including:
- Hydrogen cooking solutions with retrofitting of existing stoves and development of low-cost storage solutions
- Enhanced solar home systems with increased storage capacity and modular design for cost-sharing among households
Objectives and target:
The project is expected to promote access to clean energy, combat climate change by reducing the carbon footprint of energy and cooking activities, enhance safety, create economic and gender empowerment, and more globally improve living conditions.